carrot rice soup

It's November which means that it's getting darker earlier and there's a definite chill in the air. It's that time for a quick and simple belly warmer and I think this soup fits the bill perfectly. It's also a nice way to take comfort in something healthy, especially when you've been over-indulging on way too many left-over Halloween-sized chocolate bars. Let's just call this my personal chocolate antidote.

When I made this soup, I debated cooking the rice in the soup or cooking it separately and adding it in later. I choose to cook it all together, blending only half the soup and loved the resulting texture. However, for something different, you could easily make the soup without the rice, blend it well and then add in the rice afterward. Want to use brown rice instead? Go ahead! It's filling and delicious and even my soup-adverse husband had no complaints!

carrot rice soup
1 T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 t dried red chilis
1 t marjoram
1/2 c jasmine rice
6 c homemade chicken stock (or veggie broth)
6-8 carrots sliced into coins
1/2 T maple syrup
1/4 c half & half cream
salt & pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil and saute onions until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add chili, marjoram and rice and saute for a few minutes before adding in stock and carrots. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer over medium-low until rice and carrots are tender. With an immersion blender, puree half the soup, leaving the other half chunky. Add in maple syrup, cream and salt and pepper.

low fat granola with millet

Didn't I mention something about cake? Cookies? Something toothsome, gooey and sweet? I swear this isn't turning into a breakfast/vegan blog (not that there's anything wrong with that), but this is how I've been eating lately. It's spring outside...or at least it's trying to be and I think it's time for a dietary shake up for a bit. The cake and cookie recipes will come, I promise! Last week I picked up Mark Bittman's hefty cookbook, How to Cook Everythingand found myself at his granola recipe. It intrigued me since it required no oil and there was a suggestion to throw quinoa or millet into the mix. It got me thinking, and just a few minutes later I found myself heading to the cupboard making up a low fat granola recipe.

Now, I'm no slouch when it comes to making granola. My recipe archives contain recipes for peanut butter granola, cocoa-coconut granola, vanilla almond granola, and my no-fail granola. But despite my granola cred, I've never added millet. And dear readers, millet is a granola god-send! It adds such a snap, crackle, pop for the perfect bite of crunch. As for the no-oil, I couldn't detect much difference between this one and my normal granola, so why not choose the low fat version instead? It's delicious, filling and healthy breakfast and if you prepare a batch every Sunday evening then you have something to look forward to all week long.

low fat granola with millet
(Inspired by Mark Bittman)
6 c organic oats (not quick)
1/2 c millet (regular, uncooked millet)
1 c dessicated coconut
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1/4 c flax seeds or ground flax
1/2 c wheat germ
1 c pecans
1 generous T cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground cardamom
dash of salt
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c raisins
1/2 - 1 c maple syrup
orange juice

Heat oven to 300F. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients from the oats down to the salt. Drizzle in the maple syrup and stir well with a wooden spoon to get everything coated. Needs more liquids? Add in some more maple syrup or a bit of orange juice.

Spread the mix out into a large baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally so that nothing burns. Add in the raisins and cranberries and bake until the granola turns golden and crisp, again making sure things don't get too "golden". Remove from oven and cool. Store in a sealed container. Serve with fresh fruit and yogurt.

bakery hack: smart cookies

One of my favorite cookies is the Power Cookie sold at Capers Markets around town. It's freaking delicious and it's filled with all kinds of nuts and seeds and other good things. After devouring one quickly on the street, I decided to head home and see if I could recreate the cookie on my own. It turned out I did a pretty good job hacking out what I thought went into each bite. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo, as I made these cookies as a gift and mailed them out before I had a chance to start snapping. I hope my drawing of these 100% vegan treats will convince you that this recipe really is fantastic!

The cookies are filling and with all of that good stuff crammed in, I certainly wouldn't be adverse to calling these a breakfast cookie! While the ingredient list is long, these are simple to put together and they bake up really well too. If you don't have applesauce on hand, but you do have an apple, just make your own sauce. One large apple should do it.

These cookies aren't cakey or crisp but they are definitely chewy and hearty. Don't worry about the chocolate messing up your healthy eating plans, cuz after all, isn't chocolate good for you? I think so.

smart cookies
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c oat bran
1 c raisins
1/2 c coconut
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c walnuts, broken
1/2 c sesame seeds
1/4 c flax seeds
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 large pinch each nutmeg + cardamom
1 t vanilla
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c maple syrup
1/2 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix up everything from the flour on down to the nutmeg/cardamom. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add the dry to the wet and mix well.

Roll a tablespoon of the mixture into your hand and then flatten. Place on a silpat covered cookie sheet and bake for 14 minutes or until the tops feel dry. Let rest on cookie sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in a covered tin.

on the mend: red lentil soup with lemon

Last week I was illin', through and through. I had lost my voice and was pretty much a sad sack of sickness. On Thursday night I couldn't make it to a business dinner we had planned with some new clients, but when Cornelius returned empty handed from the meeting, I was pretty peeved. What kind of husband would forget to pick up a burrito or a can of soup for his sickly wife left at home. Uh, that would be mine. True he's my favorite person in the whole wide world, but that night, he held his head in shame.


In order to get back in good graces, I told him that he would have to make it up to me by making some homemade soup. I picked out a recipe that I had been eying for a little while and he eagerly took up the challenge. Despite the ease of this recipe, it was quite an undertaking for someone who didn't know where the lentils were kept or what pot to use. My husband, as sweet as he is, does not cook. At all. He can make toast and eggs and hot dogs, and once he made me a birthday cake, but he doesn't know his way around a kitchen. As Cornelius got down to it, he would call out questions and I'd answer where the cumin was kept and where to find the tube of tomato paste. I don't know if he really enjoyed the whole process, but he really did enjoy using the new y-peeler he had gotten me as a stocking stuffer at Christmas time. In fact, instead of dicing up the carrots, he just shredded carrot ribbons into the pot. It turned out to be a nice touch, too!


Regardless of his kitchen ineptitude, this soup turned out terrific. It had a nice bite from the lemon and it was full of flavour. And those carrot ribbons, brilliant! In fact, I'll credit this soup with getting me back on the mend. My cold is pretty much shaken, my husband is back in the good books and hey, it looks like spring is finally here on the west coast! I took a walk yesterday and the cherry blossoms are out and isn't that a wonderful thing?

Recipe adapted from Scott over at Sugar and Lard.

red lentil soup with lemon
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 T tomato paste
2 t ground cumin
1/4 t kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 t cayenne powder
1/2 t mexican chili powder
4 c vegetable broth
1 c red lentils
1 large carrot, peeled into shreds
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large heavy pot and saute garlic and onions until wilty. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne and chili powder until fragrant. Pour in broth, red lentils and carrots. Simmer until lentils and carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. Add lemon juice and parsley and serve in deep bowls.